Monthly Archives: December 2012

OpenWRT on TP Link MR3420: easy and powerful

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The house of my parent’s in law seems to have WiFi gremlins living inside.
Even obtaining a decent signal 8 meters from the router in the past proved to be a challenge.

As a first attempt to connect an old desktop of mine I tried a TP Link WiFi N PCI adapter (TL-WN751ND) with a single antenna (the best that was available in the nearby computer shop): the router signal was detected but connection always failed.

To improve the situation I’ve added a high(er) gain antenna (8db) with an extension cord: signal appeared significantly stronger but connection was still failing most of the time and when successful was lasting only a few minutes.

As a last attempt I decided to convert the 3G router that I already had from the stock firmware to the OpenWRT firmware and use it as a bridge providing ethernet connectivity to the desktop.
Installation was very simple as it worked from the standard firmware update interface of the stock firmware and in about 10 minutes I’ve had the bridge up and running.

Most likely the big challenge is related to signal scattering and the 2×2 MIMO did the needed magic.
Now the connection is fairly stable and I can get the full speed of the ADSL line to the desktop.

A big thank you to the OpenWRT guys.

Sushi @Akai Hana

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Often time when I stay in Rancho Bernardo I enjoy the sushi bar of this restaurant.
I usually seat near mr. Hiro-san when I’m dining alone as looking at him preparing the food is a great view and an additional bonus to the food.
The best position to have a good vision is his left hand side and not directly in front of him.

I keep away from the americanized dishes and stick to classical ones (ikura, ika, ama ebi, toro, tamago etc.) asking every time for a suggestion for something that is new for me.
I’m always satisfied with the raw fish quality and the cook is very kind even when sometimes I ask for something that is not supposed to be served at the bar.

I strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area that likes japanese food.

If you can’t afford a relevant bill do like I do: little quantity but great quality.
Your mouth and your body will both thank you.

2012 flight summary

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This year I was on an airplane fairly often:

San Diego (3 times, via Heatrow)
Tel Aviv (via Istanbul, Turkish airlines)
Berlin (3 times, AirBerlin)
Istanbul (7 times, Turkish airlines)
Dublin (2 times, KLM and Aer Lingus)
Prague (EasyJet)
Bruxelles (FlyBe)
Rome (Alitalia)
Munich (Lufthansa)
London (EasyJet)
Copenhagen (SAS)
Düsseldorf (3 times, AirBerlin)
Frankfurt (Lufthansa)

Finally completed to move the content of my reading list by amazon from Linkedin (part 9 of 9)

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With this post I’ve finally completed the move from the amazon-linkedin application

You can read why I’ve done this and can also find the first , second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth part of the list that I’ve already published.

Saturday, Oct 22 2011
Starman Jones by Robert A. Heinlein

Saturday, Oct 22 2011
The Children of Húrin by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, Alan Lee
I like better the original works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Thursday, Sep 22 2011
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan by Aldous Huxley

Saturday, Sep 17 2011
Wise Blood: A Novel by Flannery O’Connor
Having read all the stories I felt at home with this book.
It was like chatting with the writer about people we both knew.

Tuesday, Sep 6 2011
George Washington’s False Teeth: An Unconventional Guide to the Eighteenth Century by Robert Darnton
The book was interesting and entertaining.
One of the things that impressed me is finding out that we (the moderns) invented very little in the manipulation of the stock markets lately: most elements were already present in the pre-revolutionary french market.

Tuesday, Aug 30 2011
Marketing reloaded. Leve e strumenti per la co-creazione di esperienze multicanale by Giuliano Noci, Fabrizio M. Pini Andrea Boaretto
I recomed this book both to marketers and to customers.
To customers because is good to know how the companies are sending messages to you.
To marketers to check the degree of evolution of their marketing activity in comparison to recent practices.

Monday, Aug 22 2011
Open Prison by James White

Monday, Aug 22 2011
Second ending by James White

Content of my reading list by amazon (part 8 of 9)

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In an attempt to complete the moving from the linkedin/amazon application here is the second chunk of today.

You can read why I’m doing this and can also find the first , second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh part of the list that I’ve already published.

Friday, Jun 10 2011
Guarda, tocca, vivi. Riscoprire i sensi per essere felici by Claudio Risé
I liked the book overall, yet I felt like something was missing on the closing part.
It’s more like a collection of multiple interesting essays on related subjects than a single comprehensive text

Saturday, May 28 2011
Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Wednesday, May 11 2011
Forever War: Dispatches from the War on Terror by Dexter Filkins
Recommended

Wednesday, May 4 2011
The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor
Recommended

Thursday, Mar 31 2011
Manifesto dei conservatori by Roger Scruton
Very good reading.
The reasoning is rigorous yet easy to approach.
You can find an interesting review in Italian here

Wednesday, Mar 16 2011
Decisive Treatise and Epistle Dedicatory by Averroes
I’ve read the italian translation printed by Rizzoli.
The introduction and notes provide the fundamental context to fully appreciate the content.

Wednesday, Mar 2 2011
Shadrach in the Furnace by Robert Silverberg
The conclusion is clear a bit too early, but it’s a nice reading to relax.

Thursday, Feb 10 2011
I Drink Therefore I Am: A Philosopher’s Guide to Wine by Roger Scruton
I strongly recommend this book.
The part covering the wines is great and inspiring (I’d like to taste as many as possible of the mentioned ones to compare my experience with the author’s one) and the philosophical part is easy enough to handle for non-philosophers yet rich in content.

Thursday, Jan 20 2011
Incandescence by Greg Egan
I found it a bit boring

Monday, Jan 10 2011
La profondeur des sexes by Fabrice Hadjadj
Recommended book. Even if you may disagree with the author facing the issues he raises in a structured way will turn out useful nonetheless

Some banks deserve to lose their customers and mine is one of them

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As it’s often the case I’m traveling at the moment and so I went to an ATM to get some local currency.
I do this on a regular basis when not in a euro-country and I did used my ATM card several times in the past also here in the USA.

But this time it did not work.
I’ve tried over half a dozen different places without success this morning: BofA, Merril Lynch, Chase, Wells Fargo, Union Bank, California bank and trust and two privately operated ATM (in the office and in the hotel) without success and a lot of discomfort: I have 4 1$ notes in my pocket.

The I arrived in the office and found a nice message from the bank (sent during the local night) telling me that now they have a new policy in place such that my world-wide enabled ATM card by default is no longer worldwide.
They suggested that I could go to my branch asking to change it before the trip (quite inconvenient ad I’m about 10.000km from home already) or do it over the phone 8-22 during the workdays (but my wife called at 21.50 and the lady said it’s not operating after 21.30 and, even if we share the signature on the account, I have to call personally with great joy of the roaming mobile operator) or by internet banking (but it takes 48 hours to happen).

I’ve moved 65% of my savings to another bank in November (without anyone even asking why or whether they can do anything to keep it with them) but now I’m going to close the account completely.

It will be a nice Christmas gift for me and maybe for them too as they have one less customer to worry about.

Content of my reading list by amazon (part 7 of 9)

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After a long pause with the incoming weekend hopefully I’ll be done moving my reading list out of the linkedin-amazon application.
Below you’ll find the seventh part.

You can read why I’m doing this and can also the first , second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth part of the list that I’ve already published.

Monday, Jan 10 2011
The Scapegoat by René Girard
Girard interpretation of the dynamics of the human behavior is very interesting and supported well by the author.
Book recommended without any doubt.
I’ve read the italian translation.

Sunday, Dec 19 2010
Transactional Manager by Abe Wagner
I found the book a bit boring. Maybe I’ve had enough readings related to TA
OR the book is not a big deal in itself.
My wife is reading it I’ll post her feedback in the future.

Friday, Dec 3 2010
Games people plays by Eric Berne
I did not like the introduction to the italian edition, but the book is interesting without any doubt.
My mother found it interesting too as an interpretation key for the behavior of a friend of her.

Friday, Nov 26 2010
Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership by Ken Blanchard
Recommended: the time I used to read this book was invested well.
I suggest it not only to managers but to individual contributors too.
As an old Harvard Business review article stated everyone needs (at least) to manage his manager

Tuesday, Nov 23 2010
Lettera a un Bambino Mai Nato by Oriana Fallaci
Without any doubt a book that is valid now as it was 35 years ago. Maybe even more now.
Absolutely recommended.

Saturday, Nov 20 2010
Renaissance by Raymond F. Jones
Relaxing book, but nothing to write home about.
I’ve read the Italian translation.

Saturday, Nov 6 2010
On War by Carl Von Clausewitz
The Italian edition that I’ve read is actually a selection of the most philosophical chapters from ” uber die Natur des Krieges” and “uber die Theorie des Krieges”.
I’ve found the reading extremely interesting and useful.
I’d suggest the reading to anyone that’s not afraid of a theoretical and systematic approach to the subject.
The author thinking goes way deeper that the (only) one liner most people know.

Thursday, Oct 28 2010
The Art of Warfare by Sun Pin

Sunday, Oct 24 2010
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
I’m unsure whether or not having read this book will change the way I act, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen the actions of people who changed after having read it.

Wednesday, Oct 20 2010
Attracting Investors: A Marketing Approach to Finding Funds for Your Business by Philip Kotler, Hermawan Kartajaya, S. David Young
I’ve found the reading extremely interesting.
I’d suggest this book to anyone thinking about starting a new company.

New Nokia Lumia 800 at home: low satisfaction with WP

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Recently my Nokia E7 died and I was left without a smartphone.

Given the nice feeling that I’ve had with the Nokia N9 I’ve picked up the Lumia 800 handset as the phone construction is very similar and the N9 was not longer available at a good price.

After one week of usage I’ve to say that I’m very unhappy with the phone because of the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system.

Microsoft made something major with WP that makes this OS worthless for me (and for people traveling a lot):
There it is no way I could find to download automatically (or by explicit command) all the email attachments for all the emails in my inbox.
I travel in foreign countries 50% of my time and I’m not always in free wifi coverage: having all the data in the phone up to the last synchronization time is key to make it a good work companion.
The position of MS is that the behavior is selected to avoid risks of infections and to help save bandwidth: I’d agree with the choice if it was just the default configuration but it’s not changeable at all.

BTW there it is people who is complaining about Android downloading attachments they’re never going to read 🙂

I’ll either hand the phone over to my wife or send it back hoping that I’ll get the E7 back from service soon as the physical keyboard is a big deal too for me.

Reading “Alone together” by Sherry Turkle

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I’ve started to read this book and I’ve already found something worth sharing.

In the introduction a small but key statement is made about the fact that “to feel good is not the measure of everything” and that “we can feel good for the wrong reason”.

The author is not elaborating on this as if this would be a common agreement for any reasonable person.
I agree with her position about the criteria that should not be driving the behavior, but unfortunately this is not the general case: the ethic of selecting what makes feel good (or better) is shared by a lot of people.
And what is even worse is that is becoming more and more a short-term target: select what makes feel good now

If the first 20 pages are a good indication of what is to come it will be a good book